


Thine Only Nurse

by Arya_Greenleaf



Series: Would Smell As Sweet [3]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Dry Humping, Frottage, Hospitals, Illnesses, M/M, Switching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 19:39:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10600851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arya_Greenleaf/pseuds/Arya_Greenleaf
Summary: Asparagus and Cadillac get together for a bit of fun before a show.Upon returning, Kylo finds Hux in less than stellar condition and insists on getting him help.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this while fighting off the flu. Utterly self-indulgent and likely a bit out of character. I couldn't care less. I wanted a big strong man to come take care of me and didn't get one. At least this asshole will.
> 
> Enjoy.

Kylo tightens his belly, keeping some semblance of a counterbalance against his quickly tiring legs. Hux’s mattress was too soft, it was taking too much effort to keep himself upright. He was close, so close, if he could _just…_

“What are they?”

“What?”

Hux’s hands move up over his thighs, tracing over lines of muscle and gliding gently over the thinner skin of the stretchmarks that crept down from his hips. Kylo hisses, Hux’s hands move across his hips and pull at his backside, spreading him apart. “The tattoos—what are they?”

Kylo gasps and shivers and tries to move himself the same way again, the angle and depth he needs maddeningly just out of reach. “Personal.”

“Obviously.” Hux frowns and shifts beneath him. Kylo gasps, body pitched forward as Hux bends his knees and uses the leverage to move them both physically upward against the headboard. “I don’t think someone would casually decide to get some kind of Eldritch— _unnff—_ Lovecraftian— _mmff_ —smoke thing marked over seventy percent of their upper body.”

Kylo ignores him in favor of focusing in efforts on trying to get the right angle— _dammit._ Hux’s hands move up, cradling the small of his back, blunt nails digging in. Kylo takes advantage of the support and leans back. He rocks his hips back and forth, faster now, trying to move himself along—the entire thing just becoming more frustrating the more over-worked his body gets. He lifts and drops, panting, a fat bead of sweat tickling down his spine.

Hux is slamming his own hips upward, upsetting Kylo’s rhythm.

“Stop. Stop— _Stop_ —fuck—just sit _still_.”

Hux makes a low sound somewhere deep in his chest. His own face is increasingly flushed, cheeks staining red. He hauls himself upward, pulling Kylo close, and wrapping his slender fingers around Kylo’s cock. It sends a jolt through him at first. His legs tremble and a tingle builds from the soles of his feet and then—it’s only distracting, pulling his focus. He smacks at Hux’s hand. “Don’t—you gotta—it’s—I don’t want it— _mmph_!”

Hux lets go with a trill of frustration. “You want me to do nothing, then?”

“Yes, do nothing!” He leans back into the pillows, arms crossed and a smirk on his face. Without the arm around his waist Kylo nearly topples. He catches himself and glares down at Hux. “Don’t be a smart ass! Just… touch me—not—keep your hands off my cock.”

“Kylo—isn’t that uncomfortable, with it just…“ He curls his top lip and gestures with a flailing motion. Kylo might have laughed if he wasn’t so annoyed.

“I need—“ It’s there, _right there_. He increases his pace, grinding down harder each time he falls.

“Kylo—“

“Shh!” Hux’s hands are back on his thighs, gripping tight and helping him balance. Hux’s expression washes over with indignance and he gasps as Kylo comes hard, shaking and making an outright mess of the both of them. Spent, his body feels too hot and his bones too rubbery. He sags forward against Hux, hiding his own flushed face in the crook of his neck.

“Satisfied, then?”

Kylo makes an indeterminate sound, too punch-drunk in the immediate afterglow. Hux is quiet for what seems like hours in Kylo’s orgasm-addled mind. Finally, he shifts beneath him. Kylo groans, feeling Hux’s cock start to slip out. “Wait!”

“I want to—“

“Just fuck me. Keep going.”

“But you’ve already—“ Kylo cranes his neck to kiss him sloppily. He reaches behind himself, groaning into Hux’s mouth as he slides back inside, the sensation somewhere on the razor edge of pleasant and too-much. “Kriff,” Hux pants. He wraps his arms tightly around Kylo, hooking under his arms desperately and grabbing hard at a hank of hair. Kylo finds he can’t help the weak vocalizations that tumble out of him and into Hux with each quick, rough pump of his hips until Hux is the one pressing his lips together and screwing his eyes shut.

Kylo laughs, high and soft, a second orgasm uncoiling lazily through his lower body. Hux is shaking beneath him, breath wheezy.

“You need an inhaler or something, Archduke?”

Hux laughs and pats Kylo’s head. “No, I just need you to get off of me—I swear you’ve got your own gravitational field.”

Kylo snorts and carefully peels himself away, hissing as Hux pulls out, and rolls to the side. Hux closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, pushes sweaty hair out of his face.

“Need some help with that?”

Hux swats his hands away and sits up with a groan to get the condom off and shuffle into the bathroom. He comes back and plops back into bed, placing a box of tissues on Kylo’s chest. “Every last towel I’ve got is in the hamper, apparently.”

“’s fine.” Kylo sits up and uses the tissue to wipe himself down, a bit baffled in truth at the mess smeared across his belly. “Can I still shower later?”

“Yeah, I have that heat lamp thing.”

They doze, a good amount of space between them on the mattress. Hux inches his way closer. He looks soft with his tousled hair. Kylo likes him best this way, he thinks. They’ve Facetimed a bit since they got together the last time. Hux is usually in a suit, his hair always plastered down with pomade and a mildly uncomfortable look on his face. They have their calls during Hux’s lunch hour but never while he’s in the office. Once, Hux denied a call only to return it twenty minutes later, explaining that he’d had to get out of the building before he answered. _There are eyes absolutely everywhere and everyone is chomping at the bit to report everyone else and move up the food chain_ , he’d explained. Kylo thought the whole thing was a bit strange but how often had his mom had to move locations to take a call, whether it was a matter of privacy or security? He’d often thought, when he was young, that he’d done something wrong to make her stop playing with him or reading to him and that she was on the phone telling someone important—his school teacher? Santa Claus? The Tooth Fairy?—about what a bad boy he was.

Kylo sighs and squeezes his eyes shut, willing such foolish things out of his head. He had nicer things to think about, much more immediate things.

Like Hux’s hand creeping up over his shoulder. His fingers walk down over the bicep and dance across Kylo’s chest. Feather-light, he rubs slow circles into a nipple until it hardens under the attention, increasing the pressure bit by bit.

“Fuck, that’s good.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmm. You can pull ‘em a little, you know.”

“I won’t… rip it off or something?”

Kylo laughs and touches the side of his chest Hux isn’t. He rolls the nipple a bit between his fingers, feeling the soft, crinkled skin and smooth metal of the piercing. “I mean, not unless you’re trying to. Please, don’t try to.”

“I won’t.” Hux seems like if he stopped focusing on what he’s doing he might drop off to sleep completely. He scratches his nails over the stiff flesh. “Do you like that too?”

“Mm.”

Hux abandons Kylo’s nipple in favor of tracing the path of a tattoo down from where it peeks out from under his arm down across his side, ending in a hazy tendril on his belly. “What are these?”

“Personal, I told you. Have to be legitimately dating for a minimum of a year to unlock that level of my tragic backstory.”

“No, these scars. They’re all over. It looks like someone whipped you.”

“Maybe I’m into some real kinky shit.”

“Chrysanthemum.”

“Avogadro.” Hux props himself up on an elbow and looks down at Kylo with an expectant eyebrow. “That part of the backstory doesn’t come until after you put a ring on it.”

Hux huffs and plops down into the pillows. His face is flushed in a way that looks more like he’s run a mile than that he just finished having sex. “Cock ring count?”

“Absolutely not.”

Hux snorts and settles in again, his mouth insistent against Kylo’s neck. He moves up across his jaw and nudges Kylo’s hair away with his nose before sucking an earlobe into his mouth. “I’m just curious.”

“I know. And I don’t care. Most of my secrets are... Google-able. Some things I just want to be mine.”

“I understand.”

They kiss lazily for several minutes. They touch, arousal just barely turning the corner again, slowing and stopping before things get too heated.

“Hey, will you come to my show tonight? It’s in an actual club. I can put your name on the list, they won’t make you pay the cover charge. Here in Manhattan, too.”

“Will you be offended if I don’t?”

“No, I know you’re not really that into it.”

“It’s not that.” Hux pulls back, a little smile curling the corners of the mouth. “I do distinctly remember enjoying watching you—after, at least—even if I didn’t like the sound that much, admittedly.”

“What’s up then? You look like you’ve got some huge secret you’re sitting on.”

Hux sighs and lays back down. “Honestly? I’m exhausted.”

Kylo smirks and rolls over to mouth at Hux’s sharp shoulder. “I was that good, huh?”

“Don’t get a big head.” Kylo laughs outright. “You’re insufferable.” Hux pushes him away and sits up. “I think the week is catching up with me. I wouldn’t be any fun. I really just want to sleep.”

Kylo frowns and Hux’s rolls his eyes in exasperation.

“Go, have a shower. Enjoy it. The second switch works the fan and the third on turns the heat lamp on. But don’t put the heat on while the shower is on—it gets too hot. I nearly passed the fuck out once. I am not picking up your giant ass off a wet floor.”

“Can I come back here? After?”

“Only after you’ve dried yourself off.”

“No, I meant after the show. If you’re up to it. I’ll bring Thai or something?”

Hux laughs under his breath and pushes Kylo’s hair off of his forehead. “I don’t want anything. Buzz my phone first.”

Kylo showers quickly and then spends time bathing in the warmth offered by the red lamp overhead. He can hear Hux murmuring on the phone just above the volume of the fan while he yanks his hair back into a knot. He saunters back into the bedroom and sits down heavily on the edge of the bed. He feels Hux’s eyes on him while he leans forward to roll on a pair of leggings and socks and shove his feet down into his boots. The rest of his clothes are more rumpled than he’d prefer. He shoves them down into the bottom of his backpack in favor of the hoodie he’d arrived in. The whole thing made him look like he couldn’t hold a day job, which was exactly the look he was cultivating.

“I can’t believe you ripped the sleeves off of a perfectly delightful sweatshirt.”

“I didn’t rip them off. I took the seams out. Carefully. With one’a them little scissors they give you in manicure kits.”

“Every time you open your mouth, you get a little more ridiculous, Chrysler.”

“I do try, Autobahn, I do try.” Hux strides behind him through the apartment with a bathrobe draped loosely around his shoulders. “I probably won’t be back until one-ish, are you sure it’s okay?”

Hux nods and yanks Kylo in for a last kiss at the door. “Just call. I won’t have you down here making the doorman suspicious.”

“You don’t have a doorman, Hux.”

“Alright, I don’t want to hear that awful buzzer. Go before I change my mind.”

He rolls his eyes and pushes Kylo out the door. It clicks shut and Kylo makes his way toward the elevator. He imagines Hux going back into the bedroom and throwing the window open over the fire escape to smoke a cigarette. He noticed an open pack in the drawer that Hux fished in for condoms and lube but the apartment hadn’t smelled like a smoker lived there. Kylo keeps this image in his head as he makes his way around the corner to where he’d parked his car. He looks back at the building, half expecting to see his copper-headed friend doing just that, but the apartment is at the back of the building so it’s wishful thinking at best.

“What the fuck?” Kylo sits behind the wheel of the Falcon and stares with incredulity down at the gauges on the dash. He hardly knew Hux. He was a fuck-buddy, nothing more. It was a platonic arrangement. He had no business waxing poetic about Hux having an after-sex cigarette, the evening sun turning his eyelashes translucent-gold as it poured into the bedroom window.

Kylo shakes his head and jams the key into the ignition. He peels away from the curb, much to the displeasure of the woman in the unseasonable fun coat walking a tiny dog on the sidewalk beside him.

Avaah, as ever, is annoyed when he reaches the venue. He’s late—they missed sound-check—someone doesn’t know their bit of a new song their trying out. Kylo pushes past her and into the green room where he blindly drags dark shadow over his eyes, guesstimating some shape with his powder-coated fingers. Ben disappears from the reflection on his fingerprint covered phone.

Kylo feeds off of the energy of the crowd.

They’re all a little drunk, all a little too into the set, all a little too enthusiastic.

It’s a different kind of intoxication.

He can control them with his voice. A change of tone changes the pace. A change in volume makes them lean closer. It’s like having a secret power—one that he envied of his mother and uncle, the way that everyone listened to them, everyone rushed to do what they asked.

Kylo jumps, bouncing on the balls of his feet—so does the mass of people in front of him.

He sways. He rocks. He soars.

They all follow.

Ben could never do this.

Only Kylo Ren.

Sound flows out of him without thought. There are girls squealing near the edge of the squatty little platform the club passes off as a stage. They could touch him. They reach out and stop short, drawing their hands back and laughing wildly as they dance. Kylo looks up through the hair that’s fallen into his eyes and there’s a boy at the bar who is looking at him like he wants to eat him alive. Kylo runs his tongue out over his lips and the boy takes a long sip of his drink, his expression dark and heavy.

Ben was never this powerful. Desirable.

Ben was food for the vultures but Kylo Ren is a red-tailed hawk.

Kylo floats away from the stage when their set is over. His ears are ringing. People paw at him. They press drinks into his hands.

They love him. They want him.

He catches a flash of his reflection in the mirror behind the more expensive bottles. His makeup is dripping and flaking, battle-worn. He grins at himself and downs his shot. He peels away from the persistent woman wrapped around his waist and ducks back into the greenroom. He’d brought in not much more than himself. He swipes what little is his into his backpack and checks his phone.

_Can hardly keep my eyes open. Press the stupid buzzer if I don’t answer._

“Hey, ah, Ky?” Helge pokes his head into the green room. “Mind if I ride with you tonight?”

Kylo considers the request for a moment. He wants nothing more to get back to Hux. He can see himself pushing through the door and catching Hux up in his arms, crowding him against a wall and just…

Just.

Tasting and touching and sharing this incredible sky-high, punch-drunk feeling with someone who—

Someone.

“Yeah, sure.”

Helge grins and then they’re loading up the Falcon with the night’s gear. Helge’s kit needs some repairs so that’ll stay in the van at least. They won’t have to spend time unloading the damn thing again, their guy is back over the bridge. Helge chatters excitedly about the success of the show as they wind their way through the borough and over into Queens. He’s twirling a drumstick between his fingers at high speed.

“Hey, the new couch got delivered today. You’ll be the first to even sit on it, let alone crash on it.”

He still has his face paint on. The carefully rendered skull looks chilling in the yellowy light of the street lamp they park under. He grins and stops twirling to fish his keys from his pocket.

“I can’t stay tonight, as tempting as the offer is.”

“You going all the way back to Jersey this late? You sure you’re alright to drive?”

Kylo swallows down his irritation. He doesn’t want to share—he wants all of the things happening inside of him and all of whatever it is between him and Hux to himself. Helge frowns and rubs at his temple with the end of his drumstick.

“I have plans. I’m just going back to Manhattan, spending the weekend with a friend.”

“A friend.”

“Yes, a friend.”

“You don’t have friends.”

“Fuck you, Helge, I have plenty of friends.”

“The _Citizen of the Year_ roommate and a slobbery dog.”

“You don’t know everything about me.” Kylo clenches and unclenches his jaw. He grips the steering wheel. None of them knew anything. He’s just _Kylo_ to them—if they know he’s _Ben,_ too, then none of them ever let on. He preferred it that way, he—

“At least tell me you’re getting some.”

Kylo rolls his eyes. “Just get the fuck out of the car. I’ll let you know what the repair guy quotes when I drop the kit off.”

Helge makes a comical kissing sound and slips out of the passenger’s seat. Kylo waits until he disappears into his building before pulling away. The drive back to Manhattan feels like it takes longer than it should. Whether it’s because he’d anxious to get back to Hux or because his mood has been completely soured, he’s not really sure. The blocks crawl by and the smallest amount of the electricity he felt during the show tickles against the spaces between his ribs. He circles the block once, searching for a space and finding none until he swings back around and slips in right out front as another car pulls away.

Kylo shoots off a text message and waits near the door, doing his best to look inconspicuous. He smiles and waves at the squad car that slows down as it passes the building and wills Hux to answer. He can see the headlines in his head. _Sec. State’s Son in the Slammer—Solo Solicits and Sexy Single Sent Sailing in International Incident._

“Dammit, Hux, answer.”

He looks at the time on his phone, it’s just past two-thirty. He thumbs through to dial Hux’s number and lets it ring a few times before jamming his finger against the buzzer labeled _A. Hux_ and sitting on it.

“Kriffing—shitting— _hell_ , Krylon what are you trying to do, wake the dead?”

“Let me in, Asparagus.” His cheeks prickle with heat. He can imagine the way Hux is probably pursing his lips. He jabs at the buzzer again. “C’mon, _c’mon_.”

“Press that button again,” Hux clears his throat and swears, cursing the corner of the bed under his breath, “and you can stand there all night for all I care.” Hux laughs and the door audibly buzzes and clicks. Kylo yanks it open and makes sure it closes behind him. “At least that sense of urgency is back. I did like that version of you.”

Kylo snorts, amused, and ducks into the elevator. “I’m on my way up.”

Hux is leaning in the doorway when the elevator arrives at his floor. The _ding!_ echoes in Kylo’s head and he licks his lips as he steps over the threshold and the doors slid closed behind him. Hux has a peachy flush high on his cheeks. His lips look plump and pale and the whole sweet picture of it goes straight to Kylo’s head.

“Hey.”

Hux’s tongue darks out for a moment and disappears again. “Hay is for horses. Get your ass in here before that codger down the hall gets bent out of shape over the noise.”

Hux is pliant in Kylo’s arms when he backs him into the living room. He lets himself be kissed soundly, to be manhandled against the closed door. “You taste like sleep.”

“How does sleep taste?”

“Warm.”

“Did you only come back for sex? Is that all you’re interested in?”

“Mm. There is the stimulating conversation you always offer—came for that too.”

“That’s your plan for the weekend, then? Just pop in and out whenever you please—expect me to be right and ready? A pleasure slave at your service?”

“Doesn’t sound like a bad plan.” Hux sighs and wraps his arms around Kylo’s shoulders. His fingers find the knot of Kylo’s hair and yank the elastic band out. “Ow.”

Hux responds with an enthusiastic bite at his jaw.

“Hu— _Hux_ —Hux, I wanna ask you—“

“What?” Hux rubs himself against Kylo, chest to chest, a delicious kind of wiggle.

“Can we switch? I wanna switch. I wanna—“

Hux’s head bumps against the door when he moves it to grant better access to the swath of pale skin above the collar of his tee shirt. “You wanna what?” He rubs his body firmly against Kylo’s again. “Say it.”

“ _Shavit_ —Fuck—I wanna fuck you. _Fuck_ , Hux.”

Hux lets out a maniacal little laugh and dives forward to mouth at Kylo’s throat. The skin of his cheek is hot. His back is just on the side of slick as Kylo’s hands slide up under the threadbare cotton of his shirt. “Good show, then?”

“Best in a while.”

Hux sighs and slips out of Kylo’s grasp, tugging him toward the bedroom. “You’re sure?”

Kylo’s tempted for a moment to tease him. “Yes—please, yes.”

Hux stifles a yawn and sits down on the bed. He yanks his shirt over his head. The gentle color on his cheeks has spread into his ears and chest. His face flushes darker and he reaches out to grab at the waist of Kylo’s leggings. “Oh, Cadillac, I _want it_.”

Kylo laughs and pulls his hoodie off. He sighs, leaning into Hux’s touch. Hux’s hands are clammy the way his back is. It strikes Kylo as odd—Hux’s hands are usually smooth and dry and cool. He puts the thought out of his head, distracted by the wet heat of Hux’s mouth through the tight stretch of his leggings. “Fuck, Hux.”

“Mm. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Kylo runs his fingers though Hux’s hair, damp like he showered after Kylo left. “I didn’t—I didn’t think you’d be so— _unnff_ —so eager.”

“Problem?”

“No, Maker, no, I—“

“You did tell me once,” he looks up at Kylo like he’s half-gone in a dream and drags his lips across the length of Kylo’s cock when he gets it free, “that you like to make your partners feel good.” He opens his mouth and sucks once in earnest. He makes an amused face at the sound it draws out of Kylo. “I’m not opposed to the notion. I occasionally like to make my partners feel good as well, however—“ The haughty bravado Kylo remembers from their first meeting is creeping back in at the edges. Hux moves away, scooting back onto the bed, and Kylo follows, eager. “—I hate to burst your bubble, Chiroptera, I really am exhausted. This is all an elaborate rouse.”

Kylo halts, his mouth suctioned against Hux’s bare shoulder. “You’re kidding.” There’s an uncomfortable twinge in his gut.

“I’m not. I honestly don’t know what’s wrong—I just can’t seems to shake it. I wouldn’t be a very good fuck if I tried.”

Kylo scrunches his face, “I’m sorry I asked.”

“What?”

“We don’t—we don’t have to switch. I’m happy with—”

“Kylo, don’t be a nerfherder.” Hux reaches down between them and wraps a hand around Kylo’s cock. “I didn’t say I didn’t want to. Just not right this very second. I do want _this_ , though.”

“Oh yeah?” Bubble thoroughly burst, Kylo finds his arousal flagging, the desperate want dissipating like steam off a boiled pot.

Hux worries at his bottom lip with his teeth. He strokes his fingers through Kylo’s hair and blushes a deep crimson. Kylo can feel the warmth of his skin, radiating off of him. He turns his face away, buries it against Kylo’s neck, and mumbles.

“What?”

Hux mumbles again, louder but no more intelligible.

“ _What_?”

“I want you to _hump_ me!” He hisses through his teeth. Kylo snickers and jerks his hips forward. “Yes, like that, laser-brain.”

“What should I do next?” Hux makes breathy sounds under him. The drag of his cock against the soft flesh of Hux’s belly is sweet and warm and completely insufficient. “Wag my tail and lick your face?”

“Well, if you’re into that kind of thing.” Hux laughs and the sound grates in his chest. His breathing is just a touch labored. He pushes Kylo away and turns over onto his stomach, inelegantly shimmying his sweatpants down on his hips as he goes. “Be a good boy now, _Ben_.”

Kylo frowns and the wicked gleam in Hux’s eye vanishes.

“Sorry.”

“Not okay.”

Hux sighs and places his face against the bedding. “I’m sorry, Kylo.”

Kylo presses his lips together and shifts his hips, letting his cock settle into the cleft of the pert ass beneath him. He pats Hux’s head and dips low, nibbling at the shell of a bright red ear. “Good boy.” Hux snorts and presses his hips back against Kylo.

Hux is languid and relaxed under Kylo’s weight. He makes desperate sounds, rubbing himself against the bedding each time he moves against the pace that Kylo has set. Kylo places a hesitant hand on the back of Hux’s neck, skin hot and flushes dark. He waits for protest. Hux’s lashes flutter, the corners of his mouth curl upward.

“Faster.”

Kylo complies, rutting at a quicker pace against Hux. He takes his hand away, needing the stability, and wraps his other arm around Hux’s chest, pulling their bodies close together. “Fuck, Hux—do you want me to—“

“Mhm—on me, _on me_.” He shudders beneath Kylo, his freckled back striped with cum. His toes curl and he grinds himself down into the mattress, a strangled sound muffled by the bedding.

Kylo daintily lifts himself away and plops down beside Hux. “You sound like you ran a marathon.”

Hux turns his face into the comforter and coughs heartily. “I feel like I did.” They kiss lazily, Kylo cleans up the mess he’s made with Hux’s tee shirt and is met with only mild protest. “Sleep now, I think. We can go to one of those boozy brunch things in the morning.”

Kylo laughs and settles in beside Hux, “Alright, grandma.”

“Excuse me, eggs benedict and mimosas are a delight of universal enjoyment.” Kylo laughs again in response and reaches down to yank off his socks. Hux flops onto his back and pushes his hair up away from his brow. “Is it just me or is it very warm in here?”

“Just you, I think.” Hux coughs again and it rattles in his chest. He apologizes and throws the blankets off of his body. “You alright?”

“Mm. Just a bit overworked, I think.”

“You don’t sound very good.”

“Allergies. Change-of-season nonsense.” He sniffs hard and smacks his pillow down into submission, flopping back again. “Good night, Cryptozoologist.”

“Night, Archaeology.”

Kylo wakes with the sense that something isn’t quite right. He blinks into the darkness of the room and skims a hand over the place where Hux should be. “Hux? What the fuck? The bed is wet.” He rubs his eyes and sits up, fumbling for the light switch. “Your pillow is wet. And you’re missing.”

Kylo glances at the alarm clock. Red digits blaze that it’s four-thirty. The bathroom light reaches under the door in thin fingers and he hears a painful-sounding cough and a dry heave from beyond.

“Hux? Are you alright?” Kylo eases the door open to find Hux sitting on the floor. His skin is flushed and splotchy. His hair is damp with sweat and the fabric of his sweatpants is darkened with it as if he’d been out running. Kylo squats beside him and touches his back, then his forehead. “ _Maker_ , I could cook an egg on you.”

“Really? I’m freezing.” He shivers as if to punctuate the statement. “What time is it?” He frowns when Kylo tells him. “I can’t take another of those yet then.” He gestures to the open bottle of ibuprophen on the sink. “Took some at three.”

“And you’re still that hot? Fuck. Is there an urgent care around here?”

Hux slaps Kylo’s hands away when he offers assistance and struggles to get up on his own. “No, there isn’t. I think you should go home. Or sleep on the couch… or something. I don’t know. Just… not be near me.”

Hux falls back into the damp outline of himself on the mattress and pulls the comforter around his body in a fluffy cocoon. Defiant, Kylo settles himself against the headboard.

“You shouldn’t bundle up like that if you’ve got a fever.”

“I’m _cold_.”

“You’re burning up.”

Hux lurches upward again and hacks for a minute that stretches onward. “Fuck.” He casts the comforter away and resettles himself with just the sheet.

“You got ten minutes to get settled—then I’m taking you to a doctor.”

“Fuck off, you backrocket—“ he coughs again, “bucket-head.”

Hux gets progressively worse, alternately shivering and swearing at the heat. The cool washcloth Kylo brings in sends him into a fit of weak rage in which he grips Kylo’s hand and leans over the side of the bed, heaving and straining and achieving nothing.

“If there’s no urgent care then where’s the nearest ER?” Hux rattles off the name of a hospital that Kylo doesn’t recognize. He’ll stick it in the GPS on his phone, Hux doesn’t seem to be able to offer any further clarification. “Alright. Dry clothes and a water bottle, think we can manage that, Arithmetic?”

Hux glares and sways as he strips out of his sweat-damp pants and shorts. Kylo throws his hoodie back on and jams his bare feet into his boots. When he returns with a bottle from the fridge, Hux is struggling to tie his shoes. He protests weakly when Kylo stoops down to assist. He leans heavily against him when they finally get into the elevator. He rides in the passenger’s seat of the Falcon with white-knuckled intensity.

“Kylo?”

“Yeah.”

“You didn’t have to do this.”

“Uh-huh.” He finds a space in the ER lot and cuts the engine.

“Kylo?” He looks to Hux, worried at the waver in his voice. “I think I’m going to pass out.”

“Are you going to be offended if I help you out?”

Hux shakes his head. He allows Kylo to assist him toward the automatic doors of the emergency room and hides his face against Kylo’s chest, shielding himself from the bright fluorescent lights, when they reach the intake desk. The nurse behind it squints at them and listens as they rattle off Hux’s symptoms and hands them a clipboard with papers to fill out. She assures them they’ll be seen shortly. Kylo sighs and looks around the waiting area at the full seats. He doubts it.

Surprisingly, they’re called back into the actual ER in what Kylo is sure is record time after they’ve handed their clipboard back in. Hux climbs into the stark white bed with some difficulty. Kylo drags a chair over to the bedside.

“You don’t need to stay.”

“Do you really want me to leave?”

Hux frowns and shakes his head. Over the course of the next hour he repeats the dance of blanket-on-blanket-off. He sweats and trembles. Kylo asks for water when Hux complains that the ache in his head is intensifying and his mouth feels like sandpaper. It takes another twenty minutes for the aid to return with a pitcher. At some point a rather rough-handed nurse comes by with a set of oversized Q-tips that they use to swab Hux’s nose and throat. It leaves him teary eyed and hacking and insisting that Kylo should just leave.

Finally, someone who looks like they might be a doctor approaches the cubicle they’ve stashed Hux in. They ask what the problem is, annoyed when Hux doesn’t immediately respond.

Kylo clears his throat, “Dizziness, nausea, coughing, fever, chills, dehydration—“

“How long?”

“Sort of came on kind of suddenly. I think he was a little warm when I got to his place tonight—couple hours ago, maybe.”

“Mister—“

“Ren.”

“Mr. Ren, can I ask what your relationship to Mister—“

“Hux.”

“Mr. Hux, yes. Can I ask what your relationship is? As you can see, we’re a little overwhelmed. We need to clear people who aren’t—“

“He’s—fiancée. He’s my fiancée.”

“Really?” The doctor looks them over, scrutinizing.

“Want me to show you a receipt from the caterer? Wedding’s in June. His parents are flying in from London. We’ve got three hundred guests who—”

The doctor squints and frowns, “Fine. But if you’re ordered out you need to leave. You’re welcome to sit in the waiting area.”

“Fine by me.” Kylo crosses his arms and hunkers down in his seat. It screeches against the linoleum tile as he inches it closer to the bed and the doctor turns on their heel to leave.

“Liar,” Hux hisses.

“Shut up.”

“I expect at least a carat.”

“I’ll get you a whole damn salad if you don’t get me kicked out of here.”

“I’m talking about the ring, Climax. And I expect a tropical destination for the honeymoon.”

Kylo snorts and reaches over to brush Hux’s hair away from his forehead. “I hate sand.”

Hux smiles and his eyes fall closed, exhaustion finally overwhelming him. Kylo watches him, fitful unconsciousness and too-pale skin under the harsh lighting not exactly the best look. The nurse who wielded the swabs comes back and they try to rouse Hux with little luck. He opens his eyes and tries to focus on what the nurse is saying before giving Kylo a pathetic kind of look and closes his eyes again. The nurse purses their lips, annoyed.

“He has the flu.”

Kylo takes a breath, about to ask what they need to do, how long Hux will be in and when they can expect to be transferred up to a room. “Wait. _The flu_. He has the kriffing _flu_.” The nurse responds in the affirmative. “You made us wait all this time—let him lie here _miserable—_ just to tell us he has _the flu_.”

“Mister—“

“Ren. And this is Armitage Hux, your patient—who is in need of treatment, who—“

“Mr. Ren, as you can see, there are many more patients here aside from your—“

“Fiancée.”

“Right. He is no more or less important than any of the other people here waiting to be treated.”

Kylo presses his lips together and curls his hands into fists inside the pockets of his hoodie. “It’s not swine or avian or any of that serious shit?”

“No. Generic flu.” She holds out a blue sheet of prescription paper. “Tamiflu, rest, plenty of fluids. Cool bath, not cold, might help bring down the fever a bit, I believe you told intake that anti-inflammatories weren’t helping.”

Kylo takes the prescription and sighs, defeated. “You’re not going to keep him at all. No IV or anything. No observation.”

“No, he’s not _that_ dehydrated. Just get him to drink tea, some broth or something. He’s not going to want to eat, but he has to.” She puts her hands on her hips and looks Hux over. He groans when she tries to take the blanket down from his shoulders. “He’s going to get overheated like that.” She sighs and hands Kylo another form from her scrub pocket. “Clear out when you’re ready, give that to the desk before you go. There’s a pharmacy open about two blocks up, near the corner.” Kylo stifles a yawn. “And you should get some sleep as well. Have you had the flu shot?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, just, watch yourself. Doesn’t mean you’re immune.”

Kylo rubs his face and stands. “Sorry.”

“No sweat, I get it.”

They leave and Kylo turns to Hux, shaking him gently to rouse him. “C’mon, I’m not carrying your noodly ass to the van.”

“Fuck. What? I’m dying, aren’t I?” Hux’s hands shake as he sits up. “It’s the plague.”

“It’s the flu.” Kylo snags an arm around his waist. “Let’s go. First stop pharmacy. Then you’re going back to bed. No eggs benedict and mimosas for you.”

“Well, that’s just cruel.”

Hux is asleep in the passenger’s seat again by the time Kylo emerges from the pharmacy. He wakes himself with a coughing fit as they pull up to his building. He looks pathetic.

“Hey, do you have anyone that can… I don’t know, check in on you or something? Phasma?”

“Phasma’s back at the home office until next month.”

“Anybody else?”

“I don’t have that kind of relationship with Una. And I wouldn’t let Doph or Issa see me like this even if my life literally depended on it.”

Kylo sighs and grips the steering wheel. “Gimmie your keys.”

“What?”

“Gimmie your keys, I’ll go get your stuff.”

“Why?”

“Just— _arg_ —don’t be dumb. Come to my place. Couple of days at least, until you look less like you’re going to drop dead.”

Hux glares at him, considering, and finally relents. He fishes his keys from his pocket and drops them into Kylo’s hand.

Kylo rides up in the elevator, arguing with himself. He’d have to cancel Rey’s appointment tomorrow evening—no, tonight. He should probably cancel his students for the rest of the week, or move them to the library. He’d have to call up first thing on Monday and try to book the study room. He lets himself into Hux’s apartment and moves through the bedroom, shoving what he assumes are pajamas and a pair of jeans into a canvas bag from the kitchen.

“What the fuck am I getting myself into?” he asks his reflection in the bathroom mirror when we goes in to grab the toothbrush.

Hux doses as they drive, coughing periodically into the crook of his arm and trying to downplay how severe it sounds. “This is ridiculous.”

“Yup.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because in spite of it all, my mother raised me right.” Kylo glances at Hux in the flashes of warm orangey light as they speed their way through the Lincoln Tunnel. _And I am the biggest idiot there is._

They make the rest of the drive in silence as the sun starts to peek up over the horizon. Kylo imagines himself carrying Hux in over the threshold of the house and up the stairs to bed. It’s all far too intimate and tender for what there is between them. Instead, he parks in the driveway and slings the bag he’d haphazardly packed over his shoulder and offers Hux his arm. The help gets declined with a chin in the air and slow, swaying steps toward the front stoop.

Hux all but falls into Kylo’s bed. He’s asleep again in moments. Wired, Kylo heads back down the stairs and collapses onto the couch. He stares unseeingly at the early morning news, traffic reports and weather meaningless to him. His pocket crunches and he takes out the paper bag from the pharmacy, prescription stapled to the outside. Feet up, the news fades into white noise and the room slowly fills with light.

Kylo startles awake with a warm hand on his shoulder. “Shit!”

“You alright? I didn’t expect you home until tonight.”

He sits up and moves over to make room for Poe on the couch. “Nah, plans changed.”

Poe picks up the pharmacy bag and frowns, “What’s this?”

“Hux is upstairs?” Poe raises a brow and tosses the bag back onto the table. “He doesn’t have anyone to take care of him.”

“Ben.”

“Poe, he—“

“You’ve met this guy in person all of, what? Twice? You just get together for sex. Which there’s nothing wrong with! But you don’t know him, Ben, and now he’s sick and you’re playing nursemaid?”

“I know! I know it’s dumb. But he’s… you know, alone. And I—“

“You can’t make up for your mom and dad by playing Florence Nightingale to Queen Elizabeth up there.” Kylo frowns and crosses his arms. “Ben.” Kylo doesn’t respond. “I can’t help but think this guy is taking advantage of you.”

“He’s not.”

Poe stares out the sliding glass doors into the little backyard. “Look, I can’t afford to catch anything right now. I’ll, um, I’ll clear out.”

“Poe—“

“It’s fine, Ben. I’ll go over to Jess’s place, it’s not a big deal.” Poe get up and crosses into the kitchen. Kylo can hear the groan of the coffee maker pushing hot water through the plastic pod. “Do you mind if BB stays? He’s still got his stiches, I don’t want to stress him out.”

“Of course not.” Unsure, Kylo eyes the pharmacy bag. “You don’t have to go, Poe, I’ll bring him home tonight. I’m sure he’ll be better once he sleeps it off a little.”

“Ben, just… do what you gotta. Been meaning to catch up with Jess and the rest of my crew anyway.” He shrugs, sips his coffee. “You’re giving me an excuse to get off my ass and do it.”

Kylo sees Poe off after he finishes breakfast, motorcycle breaking through the Sunday morning haze in the quiet neighborhood. He sighs, leaning against the doorframe, and hears Hux hacking up a lung on the second floor. He stumbles as he backs up to close the door, nearly tripping over BB’s solid frame as he does.

“Aww, buddy, they really did a number on you didn’t they?”

The bulldog snuffles and shakes his head, whacking Kylo’s shins with the plastic cone around his neck.

“C’mon, BB. Let’s go see how Hux is.”

BB huffs in response and shakes his head again. His nails click against the floor and he makes his way up behind Kylo one stair at a time. BB is lumbering down the hallway when Kylo emerges from the bedroom in his bathrobe.

“Wanna keep Hux company?” He lets out a soft _boof_ and makes his way to the bed, sniffing with interest. “Recognize him?” Gently, Kylo lifts BB up and puts him on the unoccupied side of the bed. He scratches BB behind the ears once he’s settled. “Don’t bother, him, okay?” He snuffles and plops down, short legs splayed out, and closes his eyes.

Kylo is just finishing in the shower, toweling off and wiggling into fresh underthings when he hears a half-hearted shout from the bedroom. “Hux?” He skids against the floor and trips into the bedroom.

“I’m being eaten!”

Kylo snorts, “BB! What’re you doing?” The dog sniffs at Hux whose arms flail, unsure of how to get himself out of his current predicament. Kylo crawls across the bed and nudges BB away. He pulls the dog gently against him and leans up on an elbow. “Hey.”

“What the hell is that?”

“This is BB. Poe’s dog.”

“There was no dog last time.”

Kylo laughs, “Yes there was. You were just a little preoccupied.” Hux rolls his eyes and Kylo grins. “He was in Poe’s room. Lazy lump when he wants to be.”

“Why’s he got a cone of shame?”

“Ate a USB thing. Had to have it fished out of his gut.” Kylo rubs the dog’s side and earns a low sound of appreciation. “You’re a trooper, aren’t you, buddy?”

Hux groans and coughs and buries himself under the comforter.

“Hey, you hungry? You should probably start your med.”

“When the fuck did you get so domestic?”

“Always have been, Anaheim. I’m just more fun in bed.” He grins and scoots off the mattress, leaving BB to sniff as he pleases. “Hey! BB, don’t you catch the damn flu, too.” As if understanding, BB whines and flops down again at the foot of the bed, well away from Hux’s coughing. “How does oatmeal sound?”

“Good.”

“Good.” Kylo grins and tucks his damp hair behind his ears. “When you’re done you’re gonna take a shower, Hux!” he shouts down the hall as he goes. “You reek outta sweat!”

He can practically feel the glare he suspects Hux is giving him as he lopes down the stairs.

“None of that flavored nonsense!” Hux barely manages to get the whole admonishment out before he’s coughing again. Kylo presses his lips together, holding in a laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> [star wars nonsense over yonder.](http://avaahren.tumblr.com)
> 
> [reblog the thing if you'd like.](http://avaahren.tumblr.com/post/159466289114/thine-only-nurse-aryagreenleaf)
> 
> Shout at me about how terrible this was in the box below.


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